This award supports Charlotte Elster and students from Ohio University in a collaboration with Siegfried Krewald of the Institute of Nuclear Physics at the Research Center in Juelich, Germany. The research will focus on developing a model of the exchange of the vector mesons omega and rho, the nucleon exchange, and S-wave resonance. By studying the effect of different production mechanisms on polarization observables, suggestions for possible experimental investigations will become possible. Since the eta-prime photoproduction from the deuteron is close to the production threshold, it will also be possible to study the effects of the meson-nucleon final-state interaction. Extensive experience with many aspects of the nucleon-nucleon interaction, along with a history of developing meson-nucleon interactions, allows the US-German collaboration to include sophisticated final-state interaction into photoproduction calculation. The combined complementary expertise that the two sides bring to bear creates an ideal environment for carrying out the proposed research project and for training junior researchers in an international setting.
